EU blocks sixth package of sanctions against Russia that included oil embargo

European Union's sixth package of sanctions against Russia that involved phasing out the Russian oil by the end of 2023 was blocked on Wednesday, May 18. European Commissioner for Economic Affairs Paolo Gentiloni made an official announcement earlier yesterday that the sixth package proposed by the EU as a response to the Russian special military operation in Ukraine has been blocked as all leaders of the EU nations could not reach a unanimous decision. In an interview with Rai News 24 TV channel, Gentiloni said that the sanctions package that aimed to “de-swift’ more Russian banks and proposed an oil embargo on Moscow could not be passed due to diagreement of the foreing ministers. 

"We adopted five packages of sanctions very quickly and unanimously, but the sixth package is still held off for known reasons. I am optimistic about the prospects for finding a compromise," Gentiloni said.

'Russia’s unprovoked war against Ukraine affects global security': Borrell

European Commissioner for Economic Affairs Gentiloni further noted that the Hungarian government did not object to the principle of introducing an energy embargo on Moscow, but it outlined the certain geographical location and energy supply model challenges. Many of the EU nations may not have an immediate alternative to Russian oil. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell had said earlier that the bloc aimed to cut off the Russian oil imports totally to outdo EU's reliance on Russian energy.

“Russia’s unprovoked war against Ukraine affects global security. We are working on the 6th package of sanctions which aims to de-swift more banks, list disinformation actors and tackle oil imports. These measures will be presented to the Council for approval,” Borrell had tweeted. Executive Vice President of the European Commission (EC) Valdis Dombrovskis said that the EU intended to completely phase out Russian coal by August. EU official emphasized that it was necessary to make sure the damage to the European Union’s member states is minimized. EU, thus far, has imposed five packages of sanctions on the Russian Federation in a retaliatory move to counter Russia's war. 

EU foreign policy chief Borrell  had also earlier iterated that there is "no guarantee" that the 27-nation bloc will be able to quickly agree and unanimously on sixth sanctions package against Russia. A small group of countries led by Hungary oppose an oil embargo, he emphasized. “We will do our best in order to deblock the situation.I cannot ensure that it is going to happen because positions are quite strong," he had said, as he chaired a meeting of the bloc's foreign ministers.